Together We Can
Together We Can
A Branding Campaign with the Council Bluffs Community School District and Tandem Works
We’re two brands, one company wrapped into one. Mac & V, (you’re here now) this is the visual content side of the business, where we create images to bring your story to life! Tandem Works is the creative agency part of the brand, more easily stated as the strategy side of all things marketing. Why? Because we can make you cool pictures all day long but in the end, you need a strategy with a clear plan to execute.
Have you ever wondered how creative assets are developed for a campaign?
Before we dive into the creative assets, the fun stuff, here’s a brief overview of the project.
Before March of 2020, wearing a mask was reserved for Halloween. Now face masks are the new normal. They’re available everywhere in different colors and styles, and would almost be fashionable if not for the serious illness they protect us against. But despite the warnings and the availability of face masks, convincing children and teens to wear them in the classroom was an unexpected and somewhat overwhelming challenge presented to Council Bluffs Community School District as administrators prepared for the upcoming academic year.
School leaders in the Council Bluffs School district presented the campaign: Together We Can. They received grant funding from the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation and the Iowa West Foundation to execute the initiative. They knew that normalizing face-coverings at school was crucial in protecting the students, teachers, bus drivers, custodians, and other school staff facing the risk of COVID-19 exposure that comes with in-person instruction, even if it’s part-time. But how?
That’s where we came in. District leaders asked The Tandem Works team to come up with a campaign to promote mask-wearing at school. Mac & V stepped in to produce the creative assets.
What was the goal?
The goal was to make wearing a mask at school seem routine – cool, even. Students would see their classmates wearing masks, and hopefully want to do the same. Eventually, wearing a mask would be as routine as carrying a backpack.
To meet those goals, we needed branding that was holistic and would appeal to students of all ages – elementary, middle, and high school – as well as their parents. And we only had a few weeks to pull it all off.
Creative Assets - The really fun stuff
Our team went to work! Wrangling crews, wardrobes, and props for the photoshoots and video. We scouted and secured 11 different locations and worked with 75 people to be our models, these models included teachers, community members, parents, and students of all ages wearing masks around town, headed to class, and getting on the school bus.
This took a huge amount of coordination, between the client, crews, and models to ensure everyone was on the same page. Call sheets for the win!
💡 What’s a call sheet? A call sheet is a tool we use to inform crew and models where they need to be and when. It communicates important information, like where to park all in one document. Game changer!
The photo and video were only one piece of the full marketing and branding puzzle. The messaging was crucial to a successful, all-encompassing branding strategy.
Together We Can Video
We worked with DJ Hornacek - he’s a creative, video producer, and frequent collaborator to bring this film to life. The video had to cover a range of audiences, from parents to students. DJ was a great fit, his creative mind, and understanding of pop culture and music led to the creative concept of this video.
As a small, but mighty creative team, we have the flexibility to collaborate with the right fit for the project.
Campaign logistics
Marketing and branding from start to finish
A logo to brand the “Together We Can” campaign initiative
Print materials, including posters and selfie walls
Digital Marketing ads
Social media content for Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and more
A web portal for the school district to easily access and promote the campaign
Public relations targeting local media
The Results?
School leaders were pleased with how our seamless and natural campaign messaging resonated with both students and parents – well before the first school bell rang. As one school official told The Daily Nonpareil: “We know students are very influential on their peers, and the more people wear masks, the more it’ll just become part of how we go to school...We’ve got some athletes and some leaders to participate in this.”
Our team worked hard and fast to ensure that Together We Can was a success. We were honored to provide school leaders with the certainty to protect students, teachers, and staff during a time of so much uncertainty throughout the world.
Thanks to the Council Bluffs Community School District for the opportunity to help make a difference this school year!
Do you want to talk about your next project?
About Mac & V
Mac & V is a visual content studio that gives brands stopping power through photography. We create all-encompassing visual campaigns that capture the personality of a brand and inspire audiences to take action so that prospects become customers.
About Tandem Works
Creatives, with just the right mix of quirk and right brain thinking. Makers of photo, video, and copy that’s driven by imagination and crazy ideas. Innovative planners with a passion for a clear strategy, organization, and ROI.